The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-01-11
THE SOCIAL
Pursuing Their Victims to Death.

There Is no doubt" said Inspector
Byrnes Of New York, THAT the pro-
fessional black-mailers constitute a
distinct class in New York, and that
their number is large-larger than
most people dream of. Neither is 1t
of any use to pretend that they receive
the attention from tho police to which
they are entitled. But the reason is
plain. We can not compel any man to
press a complaint which he alone can
support with his testimony, no matter
how badly justice is defeated by his
failure. We have had numbers of men
you would be surprised to know the
names of some of them-come here al
most driven to desperation by the
persecution of black-mailers, and have
seer them shrink from the ordeal of
publicity when confronted with their
tormentors, and fairly beg us TO let
them 60. To brighten them as well as
circumstances would allow is about the
only thing we have been able to do
with the r%ascals, but the remedy is not
always effective.
From a police experience of more
than a score Of years a few character
istic instances were gathered. There
are u few New Workers who do not
remember the case of the Episcopal
minister, pastor of a well-known and
prosperous church in this city, who
was entrapped into n bagnio by a wick
ed woman, by means of a bogus mes
sage calling him to administer the sac
rament to a dying person, and was
black-mailed afterward until, driven
to desperation. he fled from his tor
mentors and buried himself in a far in
land village among strangers. The
case. when the facts leaked out, made
an enormous sensation ut the time.
More recent was the experience OF o
railroad magnate, lately deceased, who,
having been picked up by a female
member of the craft after a night out
with the boys, was fleeced by her to the
tune of 81, 800 before he fatty refused to
pay another cent. The woman threat
ened to go to his wife with the story
that he was the father of her unborn
child-which, by the way, never saw
the Highland kept her word. 10
square himself at home the secretary
had to have her arrested, and she was
sent to the island for six months, but
already the following day she was back
on the street, having metaphorically
"pulled the legs'' of some influential
victim.
Another case ended in one of the
saddest suicides of recent years. 1t
made an enormous but quiet sensation
in fashionable circles three or for years
ago, but no line or mention of it ever
leaked into the newspapers. The vic
tim was a young lady, n OF the
brightest ornaments and most feted
bellies of upper-tendom society in this
city. Her nearest male relative, in
whose house she lived, was and is one
of our most distinguished public men,
of a character and reputation quite be-
You'd r~eproach. The young lady was
found one morning in her bathroom.
dead. She had cut her throat. The
comparatively few who knew the truth
never learned the cause of the suicide.
1t was months before her nearest
friends knew it. 1t was black-mail.
The .high-strung young favorite OF
fashionable society had borne it as long
as she could and dared. Confronted
with disclosures of her weakness, rath-
than her disgrace, for there was moth
ing to prove the truth of the SANDER,
but every thing to %disprove it, she
chose death in preference TO dis
honor.